“We can decide that we are not interested in nuclear energy. Then we stay with gas and become more dependent on one energy source. Or we can say that we are interested in this technology again,” The Financial Times quoted Reiche as saying.
Reiche’s statements are another contribution to the growing German debate about the decision made by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government in 2011. Merkel was also a representative of the Christian Democratic Union.
Germany proceeded to gradually close all nuclear power plants in response to the disaster at the power plant in Fukushima, Japan. The process of deviation from the core continued even after the Christian Democrats in the government were replaced by the left. It was completed by the cabinet of Social Democratic Prime Minister Olaf Scholz in 2023.
In recent weeks, the current chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) also called the closure of nuclear power plants a mistake. “I regret it, but this is the reality and we are concentrating on the energy policy we have today,” he said.
The German nuclear debate is reviving at a time when gas prices are rising due to the war in the Middle East. Since the outbreak of the conflict at the end of February, they have risen by 60 percent.
Some European countries, on the contrary, are leaning towards the core as an emission-free source. For example, France, Sweden or Poland are considering expanding existing nuclear power plants or building new ones. The Czech government also wants to build nuclear resources.
